Category Archives: Planes, Trains, and Automobiles

A flock of electronic scooters descending on Austin

Posted on May 6, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Not actually one of the signs of the apocalypse, though I’m sure it was annoying. Seemingly overnight, Austin was buzzing with electric scooters last month. Scooter riders weaved through crowded sidewalks and traffic downtown and zoomed out of drivers’ blind … Continue reading →

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Metro will pilot automated vehicle shuttle at TSU

Posted on May 3, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

from the inbox: Texas Southern University students may have another transportation option on campus in the fall semester: an autonomous shuttle. Today, METRO’s Board of Directors gave the nod to the autonomous vehicle (AV) project, a first for the agency.  Although the … Continue reading →

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Smart Cities Collaborative

Posted on April 28, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

It’s a thing we are part of. Houston will join 21 other cities in a national partnership aimed at addressing persistent transportation challenges as technology and mobility choices have planners rethinking how streets, sidewalks and private spaces interact. The upcoming … Continue reading →

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Ellis puts up money for city’s bike projects

Posted on April 25, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

I like this plan. Harris County Precinct 1 Commissioner Rodney Ellis on Monday announced a one-year $10 million commitment to bicycling projects in Houston, in the hopes of jump-starting the city’s transformation into a bike-friendly place. “Working together, we can … Continue reading →

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SNCF has qualms about Texas Central

Posted on April 8, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Who is SNCF? They’re another passenger rail company, one that has also expressed an interest in building lines in Texas, and they have offered some negative feedback to the Texas Central high speed rail line. One of the world’s largest … Continue reading →

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Just a reminder, the I-45 construction is going to be massive

Posted on March 17, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

I can’t quite wrp my mind around the scope of it. I suspect a lot of us feel the same way. Birds flitting in and out of the grass and trees along this strip of marsh pay no heed to … Continue reading →

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Metro to buy buses for Uptown BRT

Posted on February 19, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Another step forward. Metro officials next week are set to spend at least $11.2 million on buses for bus rapid transit service along Post Oak, committing the agency to spending on the controversial project after years of discussion. Metropolitan Transit … Continue reading →

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Northwest Mall will be your Houston high speed rail terminal

Posted on February 7, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

No surprise. Texas Central Partners and Houston-area elected officials on Monday announced that the company, which is seeking federal approval for a 240-mile high-speed train line, has chosen Northwest Mall near Loop 610 and U.S. 290 as their preferred site. … Continue reading →

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People who oppose the high speed rail line continue to oppose the high speed rail line

Posted on February 2, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

The DEIS hearings go as you’d expect them to. Meetings to discuss a proposed high-speed train between Houston and Dallas pulled into some of the areas most opposed to the project on Tuesday night, as federal environmental meetings continue to … Continue reading →

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Public meetings for Texas Central draft EIS

Posted on January 30, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

You got something you want to say about the proposed high speed rail line and its possible routes, here’s your chance. Houston residents are being asked to weigh in on a plan to build a $12 billion high-speed train between … Continue reading →

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Texas Central picks its midway stop

Posted on January 27, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Hello, Roans Prairie. A proposed high-speed train between Houston and Dallas on Thursday announced its midpoint, even as common ground with opponents near the proposed Roans Prairie stop remains elusive. Texas Central, the company proposing the Texas Bullet Train, said … Continue reading →

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We could be getting to the end of 290 construction

Posted on January 5, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

By the end of the year. We think. Most major construction along the main lanes of U.S. 290 will end in 2018. Every new wide lane open. Every bridge built. Eleven lanes, including a reversible HOV lane, from Loop 610 … Continue reading →

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The most dangerous places for pedestrians in Texas

Posted on December 22, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

There are a lot of them. Pedestrian safety is a priority driver safety issue in Texas – where non-motorist fatalities have steadily increased every year since 2012. At the Hill Law Firm, we wanted to be a part of the … Continue reading →

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The possible Houston high speed rail stations

Posted on December 21, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

From Swamplot: ONE OF THESE 3 spots revealed in a report from the Federal Railroad Administration will be the planned site for the Houston-Dallas high-speed rail line’s Houston terminal. All 3 are near the intersection of the 610 Loop and … Continue reading →

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High speed rail line route finalist chosen

Posted on December 17, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

Here’d where the Texas Central rail route will be, modulo some possible final tweaks and any further political obstacles. Federal officials narrowed the possible paths for a Dallas-Houston bullet train down to one likely route Friday, providing an unknown number … Continue reading →

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Another step in the Uptown BRT process

Posted on December 15, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

Gotta build those bus lanes on the Loop, too. A bus guideway along Loop 610 will cost slightly more than anticipated, based on bids opened Wednesday in Austin. Williams Brothers Construction, a mainstay of highway building in the area, was … Continue reading →

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Lamenting the lost rail opportunity

Posted on December 11, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

What could have been. Harris County Judge Ed Emmett’s speech Tuesday may have included jabs at state lawmakers, but it was a hit with transit advocates for a single line. “We cannot go back in time and undo some poor … Continue reading →

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Abandon hope, all ye who drive here

Posted on November 23, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

Just stay away. Far, far away. Houston’s worst chokepoint is about to be a construction zone for the next five or six years, in the hopes that drivers eventually reap the rewards. Federal, state and local lawmakers gathered Monday on … Continue reading →

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We will never stop widening our highways

Posted on November 13, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

Eventually, everything will be used for extra highway capacity. For people in western Harris and Fort Bend counties, now is the time to sit down with your toddler and ask what kind of Interstate 10 they’d like to have. Texas … Continue reading →

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People who oppose the Uptown Line continue to oppose the Uptown Line

Posted on October 23, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

Film at 11. A plan for faster bus service along Post Oak, the centerpiece of a larger project to remake Uptown’s Main Street, continues to divide its supporters and transit skeptics, even as work accelerates and commuters brace for limited … Continue reading →

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Hyperloop versus high-speed rail

Posted on September 27, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

I’ve been pondering whether our state is big enough for two high speed land-based forms of transportation, and I think the answer is “yes, at least for now”. The Hyperloop is nearly twice as fast as Texas Central’s High-Speed Rail … Continue reading →

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Texas remains in hyperloop competition

Posted on September 20, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

We’re still a long way from anything happening, but if it does it could happen here. There’s still a chance Texans could be some of the first people in the world to whisk along in tubes at 700 mph. Hyperloop … Continue reading →

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In defense of hyperloops

Posted on August 20, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

Eric Holthaus at Grist writes in defense of Elon Musk’s hyperloop idea in general, and the proposal for a New York to Washington, DC hyperloop plan in particular. Assuming hyperloop costs of $100 million per mile, and tunneling costs of … Continue reading →

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Houston signs memorandum of understanding with Texas Central

Posted on August 19, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

This makes a lot of sense. At City Hall, Houston and Texas Central Partners announced the signing of a memorandum of understanding, which commits both sides to share environmental surveys, utility analysis and engineering related to the project and surrounding … Continue reading →

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Texas Central picks builders

Posted on August 18, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

Noted for the record. Backers of a Texas bullet train are moving to the next stop, selecting a team to build the Houston-to-Dallas line, despite not having a clear shot – yet – at construction. Texas Central on Monday morning … Continue reading →

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Can we share these lanes?

Posted on August 3, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

Metro is rethinking how the light rail lines run in parts of downtown. Traffic woes and collisions along the newest light-rail lines in downtown have Metro leaders toying with the idea of backpedaling on their promise not to close parts … Continue reading →

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From the “we don’t want those people coming here” files

Posted on July 30, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

Stay classy, Spring. The headline wasn’t subtle: “Stop Metro from coming to Spring.” The article,published July 15 on the website Spring Happenings, warned that bus service would “give criminals an easy way in and out” of the north Harris County … Continue reading →

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The process for I-45

Posted on July 27, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

This time it’s different, more or less. The region’s largest looming highway project – a massive rebuild of Interstate 45 from the Sam Houston Tollway to downtown Houston – has a lot of people looking into the rear-view mirror, pressing … Continue reading →

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Culberson does his Culberson thing to Metro again

Posted on July 13, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

It is what it is. But maybe, just maybe, there’s now a sell-by date on it. Houston may have stopped building light rail lines, but the fight over them rages on — right to Washington where Rep. John Culberson again … Continue reading →

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SH130 operator emerges from bankruptcy

Posted on July 4, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

Good for them. The firm that oversees a stretch of highway with the country’s fastest speed limit says it is on better financial footing and under new ownership. The SH 130 Concession Company, which operates a 41-mile stretch of the … Continue reading →

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Uber drivers sue over employment status

Posted on July 3, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

This will be worth watching. Lawyers for 19 Texas drivers for Uber on Friday filed a federal class-action lawsuit in Houston, claiming the ride-hailing app company’s oversight and control of supposedly independent drivers is so pervasive, they should be considered … Continue reading →

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RideAustin tries to hang on

Posted on June 28, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

I wish them luck. The return of Uber and Lyft to Austin has put the city’s only ride-hailing nonprofit in a fight for survival. RideAustin, one of several small companies that started operations in Austin after the ride-hailing giants left … Continue reading →

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Smarter streets

Posted on June 27, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

They’re coming soon to Houston. Houston City Council on Wednesday will consider a $33.6 million contract – partially funded by a $10 million federal grant – to add hundreds of traffic-tracking devices across the city so officials can receive better … Continue reading →

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Texas Central survives the session

Posted on June 26, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

It looked bad for awhile there. but in the end no significant bill that would have obstructed the high speed rail line was passed. In the recent Legislature, over 20 bills were filed that took aim at a high-speed rail … Continue reading →

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